Friday, March 29, 2013

tristan turned four on tuesday. what an amazing journey it has been with this boy on board. we had blackened catfish for dinner, per his request. and chocolate cake of course (with orange chocolate buttercream frosting, i might add). there were puzzles & books & pirates & a kid's digital camera. yia yia sent some gears and nanna sent a bug vacuum, huge hits indeed. and both grandmas sent a great infusion of matchbox cars. i wanted to have a lap quilt ready for tristan on his birthday, but failed. it is in progress (pictured below) and should be complete soon. we had a nice family evening celebrating tristan and his playful spirit. and now we embark on year four as a family of four.

just one of those days when i feel so blessed to be living where we do: romping around the yard, exploring the forest, visiting the creek, observing the freshly cracked and grounded trees after a storm.

i am very behind in my posts as it's been a crazy busy couple of weeks, and now we are all sick in varying degrees. slippery elm tea, lemon ginger honey, apple cider vinegar, avgolemono, the neti pot, eucalyptus steams, vitamin d, cough drops, lots of kleenex, and zinc are in our arsenal.

tashi was in her high school production of les miserables last weekend, and what an amazing production it was. the musical was a huge undertaking to coordinate and direct, and it was really so well done. so many astonishing voices! tashi was in the ensemble, and though acting through a head cold all weekend, pulled it off and seemed to be having a great time. they all worked so very hard on this production, and it definitely showed. i had not known the story until seeing the film in december. it really is a timely tale and is relevant today as much as it was to 1800's france.

so hard to choose between the photos. some here, and many more in this and this flickr set. my girl, sporting french braids, is in a blue blouse and plum colored skirt. can you spot her?

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

tristan has been rather determined to stick these halloween window stickers up lately, much to my despair. even though it's cold, gray, and sometimes snowy these days, we are not in the dying season!

spring equinox snuck up on me. i had no special rituals, crafts, or recipes lined up. while the sun was out, there was a cold chill i couldn't seem to toss aside. there was no spring to my step today. it might as well have been the onset of winter, such was my icy state of mind. but when we were listening to music and tristan asked me to dance, i felt the thaw begin.

and then we went outside seeking signs of spring. . .

when you are at the edges of a new terrain you sometimes have to leap forward before you can fully appreciate the fresh view. gazing through the windows at the crocuses and daffodils struggling against the cold. watching the blue jays swoop by while the deer graze. opening the door so the cats can go in and out and in and out. noticing through the car window that the apple blossoms have arrived and that the trees are beginning to green with buds. this is not enough. it is like sitting at the edge of the pool dipping your feet in while every one else is soaked and splashing.

when tristan and i finally burst through the doors and felt the sun against our skin, i remembered something about myself. direct contact with warm sun chases away my icy moods. when he handed me a crocus and insisted we collect a bouquet of daffodils, i was reminded that children are miraculous and temporary, like flowers. and when we both returned to the indoors, ready to move on to the next part of our day without so much friction and fuss, i remembered that time spent in nature is as important as lunch.